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Thursday, 01 December 2016

Gambia Is The Latest Afrikan Country To Shut Down The Internet On Election Day

Credit: Flickr

With elections due to take place in Gambia on 01 December 2016, it appears that authorities in Gambia have shut down the country's Internet. With elections due to take place in Gambia on 01 December 2016, it appears that authorities in Gambia have shut down the country's Internet.This Internet shut down in Gambia on election day adds the country to a list of Afrikan countries who have in recent years on or before elections have fully or partially blocked Internet and communications. This list includes Ethiopia, Zimbabwe, Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda to name a few. This is not a complete surprise as there have been rumors and suspicion circulating in Gambia that President Yahya Jammeh could possibly be considering disabling communications on or before the elections.

The Government of Kenya has launched Ajira Digital, an online platform aimed at leveraging on online opportunities to create jobs for Kenyans. The ICT ministry estimates that the platform will enable one million young Kenyans to access online jobs over the next year.The program is spearheaded by the ICT Ministry, and it aims to introduce young people to online work by providing them with tools, training and mentorship to work and earn an income online. To get the project off the ground, 150 youth officers have been recruited for deployment to all 47 counties, and these officers will do the work of sensitizing the youth on online job opportunities.

Naspers' Latest Financial Results Show Headline Earnings Grew By 31% To $914 Million

Credit: Naspers

Africa’s largest company by maeket value, South Africa's Naspers which has interests spanning Internet, media and entertainment industries have announced that their core headline earnings grew 31 percent to $914 million. Along with this the company's revenues increased 16 percent year on year to $6,8 billion excluding acquisitions, disposals and currency movements. Revenue growth of 27 percent was experienced by the company with businesses outside South Africa contributing 80 percent of revenues, up from 75 percent a year ago, highlighting the impact on their financials of their stake in China's TenCent Holdings. “We experienced a satisfactory first six months to the financial year. The ecommerce businesses and Tencent performed well, while video entertainment and print did their best in a pretty tough environment.” said Koos Bekker, Naspers Chairperson.

You Can Watch Netflix Offline, But There's A Slight Catch

Credit: Netflix

If you are a Netflix subscriber , anywhere in the world, you can now download series and films to watch offline at no extra cost in addition to streaming. This new offline viewing feature will loikely encourage further sesJustries "binge watching" as subscribers don't have to rely on an Internet connection to stream but can download titles to watch later by just clicking the download button on the details page for a film or TV series. However, there is a slight "catch", it appears that only popular Netflix Original titles are initially available for download to view offline with no indication on when more titles will have the offline viewing feature enabled.

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In his presentation to budding entrepreneurs in Johannesburg, Justin held no punches back by "telling it like it is" on what it takes to start a tech startup using examples from the likes of Ronnie Apteker, Yossi Hasson and Justin Drennan. His advice ranged from "Grit is greater than Talent" to founders should not be "Married to their ideas". After the presentation he answered a few questions in a Q & A session that followed that talk. It covers, diversity in tech, STEM Education & Early Childhood Development, Startup Funding and more.

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A technology company that produces content, podcasts, events, publications and other services about Afrika's burgeoning innovation and technology sector and how it affects culture, business and day to day life on the continent.